Shono | Akateeminen Kirjakauppa

Shono was founded in 2014 by Alexander Arkhincheev. The Buryat musician lives in Irkutsk, is a master of throat singing, is considered an expert on Buryat legends and epics and is proficient in many different traditional Buryat and Mongolian instruments. He is also active as an educator. The four-member ensemble Shono combines their love of traditional Buryat music with a passion for Western rock'n'roll. The first album “Hunters” impressed with a variety of different styles of throat singing. Arkhincheev also contributed his own songs to the album.

“For many years the tradition of Buryat throat singing had been lost. But recently there are more and more people who want to revive them. With our music we promote throat singing and the use of traditional instruments. The roots of throat singing go back far into the past. We believe that throat singing is our religious heritage, a part of our shamanistic tradition,” says Alexander Arkhincheev.

“The spirit of the centuries-old rituals of the nomads of Inner Asia creates an intense atmosphere that almost makes us shudder. Shono use Buryat instruments such as the horsehead violin but are not afraid to use modern rock music instruments such as bass, guitar and drums. The driving rhythms and their irresistible drive make Shono one of the leading bands among the Siberian, Tuvinian and Mongolian ethno-rock bands,” praises the trade press.

For their second album “Kolkhozov Traktor” Shono were looking for a new sound. Most of the tracks are songs that Alexander Arkhincheev heard from his grandparents as a child. “The album is a tribute to tradition to preserve the great heritage of Buryat culture and pass it on from generation to generation. All these songs are about nature and animals, the homeland and the values ​​of the Buryat people,” says Arkhincheev about the background of “Kolkhozov Traktor.”